A new pilot program will test the waters for recycling pickup in Hendersonville.

Director of Public Works Chip Moore explained that in the 12 years that he’s been managing trash pickup for the city, he’s received numerous calls from people requesting recycling.

“We’ve got a lot of people moving into Tennessee from places where (recycling) is mandatory,” said Moore. “So a lot of people are used to the idea of recycling. It’s something they like, and they feel like they are helping the environment.”

When Moore became director three years ago, he began bringing the idea up at committee meetings to let officials know there was an interest in recycling. And while everything comes at a cost, Moore said there are economic benefits to recycling.

When materials such as plastic, aluminum and cardboard don’t get recycled, they fill up landfills, Moore explained. Recycling those materials instead would help landfills last longer, which would be cost effective.

Similarly, the city pays tipping fees for landfills.

“We are going to immediately save costs from tipping fees,” said Moore.

When a local vendor approached the city wanting to try a pilot program, Moore said he began looking for funding in his budget to get it started.

The city will purchase 820 cans for the program. Participating neighborhoods are Ballentrae, Cranwill Drive, Lawson Pointe, Millstone and Windstar Bay.

The initial cost to purchase these cans is between $40,000 and $50,000, explained Moore.

The city bid for the collection and awarded the contract to Republic Services.

Collection costs will likely total $40,000 for the six-month pilot period, Moore said.

The program could start as soon as the first of November, Moore said, but added that would depend on when he received the cans.

Recycling will be picked up on Wednesdays, which is the city’s only non-trash day. Residents in the five neighborhoods will not need to sort individual recyclable materials, since it will be single stream recycling, Moore said.